Mathematics

Exam Board: AQA

The GCSE Maths course continues to develop the skills and understanding you have already been working on during Key Stage 3. Topics are based on the core areas of number, algebra, proportional reasoning, geometry, probability and statistics.

For Maths lessons you will need to bring your equipment to every lesson. You should have a pen, a pencil, a ruler, a protractor, compasses and a scientific calculator. 

Assessment

100% examination. There are two tiers of entry for the final exam: Foundation, which covers grades 1–5 and Higher, which covers grades 4–9. At each level, you will sit three exam papers at the end of the course.

At the beginning of Year 9, you will be allocated to a group based primarily on your achievement in Year 8 assessments.

The path that you take through the content will be based on your previous achievement. At various times throughout the course you will sit an internally-assessed exam in order to show your current progress and what you need to do to improve further.

Final decisions about tiers of entry are not made until the later stage of the course.

Where can it lead?

Possible career paths include: engineer, accountant, auditor, stockbroker, manager, games developer, web designer, quantity surveyor, data analyst and more. Maths graduates are well equipped for careers requiring logical or strategic thinking and often go into finance, computing, management, government and teaching.

You will develop a range of transferable skills including numeracy, attention to detail, organisation, discipline, problem solving, quantative reasoning, time management, patience, accuracy and ICT.

Find out where studies in Maths can take you on Unifrog:

Maths Subject Profile